Flash light



F. EVANS.

FLASH UGHT. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1920.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

casings therefor, v provements therein.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED EVANS, or sommrr, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO LOUIS v. ARONSON, or NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

FLASH LIGHT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1922.

Application filed March 22, 1920. Serial No. 367,927.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, FRED EVANS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Summit, in .the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flash Lights, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to flash-lamps and and aims to provide im-' An object of the invention is to provide from pressed metal a tapering casing, made up of longitudinally separable sections,and provided with co-operating means whereby to be snapped together; one of the sections being provided with spaced-apart studs, and the other with corresponding slots receptive of said studs.

A further object is the provision of a casing, specifically designed to maintain without any separate securing means, a skeleton frame, arranged to carry, as a unitary structure, the interior working parts.

The present invention consists in the gen eral and specific construction and 00111- bination of partsas hereinafter described, and it is defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing, forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a'central longitudinal sectional view of a flash-lamp embodying the present featureslof improvement.

Fig.2 is an elevational view with the front casing section, removed, exhibiting the interior, parts being shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a cross-section, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, and particularly to Figs. 2 and 3, it will be observed that the casing, as an entirety, comprises an elongated figure having opposing flat sides and opposing tapering sides.

More specifically, the casing comprises a rear section 1, formed with opposing tapering sides 5; and a front section6, similarly formed with tapering sides 7, designed to engage snugly over the sides 5 for a distance. As a means of securing the sections together with .a snap action, the sides 5, on their marginal edges, are provided with spaced-part studs 8; and in correspondence therewith, the sides 7 are provided with slots 9 receptive of said'studs; it being observed that the edges of the sides 7 are turned slightly outward asshown at 10, in order readily to snap these parts together and as readily to separate them when desired. At the larger end of the casing, the tapering sides are made with an inwardly curved region as at 11, terminating in a flattened extremity 12, for a purpose that will later appear. These sections are produced from thin pressed metal, such as sheet iron, sheet aluminum or the like. At the smaller end of the casing, the defining sides are bent upon themselves to form together a recessed ring 13, in which is engaged the flanged rim of a reflector 14, formed with a central inwardly projecting, socket 15. Also engaged in the ring 13 and against the reflector rim, is a lens 16; these parts being held fixedly in a skeleton frame of rectangular form, and

consisting of the side plates 18 and 19, connected by the top and bottom plates 20 and 21, respectively. Adjacent the bottom plate 21, the sides are formed with outwardly projecting lugs 22, designed as guides to engage the casing and to hold the skeleton frame centrally therein. I

Upon the top plate 20, there. is secured a plate of non-conducting material 23, formed with branches as shown in Fig. 3, to engage the sides of the casing and thereby to maintain the top portion of the frame in the desired central position. Engaged between the side plates 18 and 19 are the arbors 24, 25 and 26.- The arbor 2 1 projects through the plate 19 to receive a pinion 27, with which is engaged a rack-bar 28, longitudinally slotted at 29 to receive the guiding studs 30, which project from the plate 19. This rack-bar 28 merges intoa rod 31, which extends through a guiding lug 22, and also through the flat casing end 12, to receive the exterior ring 32. Secured on the rod 31 is a colla 33; and coiled around this rod is a compression spring 34, which is confined between said collar and the adjacent guide 22. This arrangement is such that each time, by means of the ring 22, the rod is drawn outwardly, the spring 34 will act to reosition it.

inned on the arbor 24 is a gear wheel 35, in mesh with a pinion 36, fast with a gear wheel 37 on the arbor 25. The gear wheel 37 imparts its movement to a pinion 38, fast with a ratchet wheel 39 on the arbor 26. Loosely mounted on the arbor 26 is a permanent magnet 40, formed with a plurality of branches 41, designed to spin around an equal number of armatures 42, coil wound in series, and attached. to a guard sleeve 43, which surrounds the arbor 26 and which is fixedly secured to the plate 18. Pivoted at 44 to a magnet branch is a pawl 45, which is normally held in engagement with the ratchet teeth by means of a spring 46, pinned at 47 to a magnet branch.

. Whenever, by means of this construction, the rod 31 is drawn downward by a quick movement, the magnet will be spun about the armature, setting up an electric current; and each time the rod is drawn in, under the influence of the spring 34, the gear train will be actuated reversely, but the magnet will not be actuated, since the pawl rises out of the ratchet teeth.

()ne end 46 of the armature winding proceeds to a conducting spring 48, withwhich it is secured by binding-post 47 upon the insulating material 23. The conductin spring 48 is arranged to engage a termina of the incandescent lamp 49, which is screwthreaded into the socket 15. The other end 50 ot the armature winding is grounded at 51 on the skeleton frame, the return to the point 51 being accomplished through the lamp base,"- the reflector and the casing parts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a pocket flashlamp, the combination with a metallic elongated casing consisting of separable complementary sections' flanged one intimately upon the other and the opposing flanges tapering toward one end, the smaller end of the casing terminating in a ring opening and an opening provided in the larger end, of a reflector carrying an incandescent lamp secured in said ring opening, a longitudinal skeleton frame disposed in said casin and having guides for holding it in position therein, a current-generator carried by said frame and connected in circuit with said lamp, mechanism carried entirely by said frame for actuating said generator and including a pinion, a rack-bar slidably maintained on said frame in engagement with said pinion and merging into a-rod having extension outwardly through the opening of the larger end, and means combined with said rod for holding the rack-bar normally in operative position.

2. In a pocket flash-lamp and in combination, a metallic elongated casing consisting of separable complementary sections forming a ring opening at one end, said sections being flanged one intimately upon the other 'and the opposing flanges tapering toward wardly through the opening of the larger casing end, and a spring acting on said rackbar for holding it normally in operative pos1t1on.

3. A pocket flash-lamp casing made of sheet metal and consisting of elongated separable complementary sections formin a reflector receiving opening at one end, said sections being flanged one intimately upon the other and the opposing flanges tapering toward said opening, the said flanges at the larger end curving sharply inwardly to form a flat extremity at the larger end and having an operating rod receiving opening therein, and provision for detachably connecting the overlapping flanges consisting of studs on one flange and corresponding slots cut in the confronting flange.

This specification signed and witnessed this eighth day of March. 1920.

. FRED EVANS. lVitnesses FREDK C. FISCHER, I F, N OLL. 

